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Courtney 'Bettie' Danielski

One of Danielski's favorite subjects for tattoos is food. This tattoo of a deviled egg,is one of her favorites. / Submitted Photo

Courtney Danielski drives from Appleton to Fond du Lac every day for work. She does this because, she said, she loves her job as a tattoo artist at Big Guns Tattoo, 21 N. Main St.

As is often the case with artists, Danielski started with her art when she was young.

“I’ve been drawing since I could pick up a pencil,” said Danielski. She adds that her childhood babysitter used teach her to draw, and they would practice by drawing pictures of one-another.

“I was fortunate enough that in high school I went to an arts-based charter high school: Renaissance School for the Arts in Appleton,” she said.

Danielski said she was excited to be able to afford art classes including painting, stone sculpture, ceramics and advanced art history because art was important to her.

“I kind of always knew that I wanted to do this,” she said.

Her interest in tattoos was sparked when she spied on her brother and his friends tattooing one another.

Danielski started her career by working at a tattoo shop after she graduated high school in 2010. When she turned 21, she worked as an apprentice with Big Guns Tattoo in Appleton. She apprenticed there under Don DuBois in the summer 2013, and accepted a transfer and full-time position in Fond du Lac in October 2013. July 1 of this year will mark her first full year as a tattoo artist.

One of her best experiences as a tattoo artist was when an elderly lady came into the shop with two of her daughters unbeknownst to her husband and requested a tattoo featuring her wedding dates and a butterfly.

“It was really sweet and unique,” Danielski said.

Female tattoo artist

A challenges Danielski has faced in the industry is the stigma that women don’t completely comprehend the technical, machine-building side of being a tattoo artist. A tattoo artist will utilize several types of tips with the tattoo gun. Some have fewer needles arranged in a circle and are used for outlines. Others have needles arranged in a line, and are used for shading.

There are as many variations of tip designs for tattoo guns as there are paintbrushes, and the knowledge of how to set up the right tool for the right job is something some believe is easier for men, Danielski said. She, however, is interested in the mechanical side of her trade, and has learned a great deal about it from her co-worker and mentor, Brian “Brian Justthree” Ruebehnstahl.

“Being female shouldn’t affect my knowledge of my craft,” Danielski said. “There’s a lot that goes into it, and a lot of people don’t realize it.”

Danielski prepares her machines before each tattoo, anticipating the types of tips she will need for each step.

“I hope that everyone is able to find something that they love to do as much as I love to tattoo,” said Danielski.

She noted that her family was initially wary of her becoming a tattoo artist, but when they saw her passion, they supported her, “100 percent.”

“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” said Danielski. “I like to be able to share beautiful stuff with the world.”

The Artist Next Door is a bi-weekly feature with a video at fdlreporter.com. Taima Kern can be reached at tkern@gannett.com, (920) 907-7819; on Twitter @TaimaKern. Kern is president of Fond du Lac Visual Arts.